Victor Wembanyama's Pregame Prayer with Nuns Caught on Video at NBA Finals
During the Western Conference Finals, Asher Hyde designed a mock Nike ad showing Victor Wembanyama flanked on either side by the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco with the message, “Stop him? Just pray.”
The reigning champion, the Oklahoma City Thunder, couldn’t stop Wemby and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs won Game 7 to vanquish the Thunder’s back-to-back bid, and the 7-foot-4 Frenchman won the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy as the Western Conference Finals MVP.
The Spurs hosted the New York Knicks for Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Wednesday night, and life imitated art before tipoff.
The Salesian sisters huddled around Wemby, and they prayed together:
“The sisters have been cheering on the Spurs from their provincial house on the West Side since Tim Duncan’s early days with the team,” Annasofia Scheve reported for the San Antonio Express-News. “Their fandom was prompted by a desire to connect with their students at St. John Bosco. Although fans have lovingly nicknamed the group the “Spurs nuns,” the moniker isn’t exactly accurate. In the Catholic Church, nuns live private lives focused on prayer, while sisters spend their time ministering to the community.”
The sisters were courtside for Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals at Frost Bank Center on May 24. Wembanyama, the newly named unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, went off for 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals in a 103-82 win.
Wembanyama and the Spurs will need all the blessings they can get against the Knicks, who carried a historic 11-game winning streak into San Antonio on Wednesday. New York swept the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the Eastern Conference Finals on May 25. All-Star and All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson won the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
The Knicks and Spurs met three times in the regular season. The Knicks went 2-1, including a win over San Antonio to capture the NBA Cup. All of New York hopes that December result was an omen for the next two weeks.
This marks the Knicks’ first NBA Finals appearance since the 1999 NBA Finals, where they lost to Duncan’s Spurs in five games. The Spurs last reached and won the Finals when they topped the Miami Heat in 2014. The Knicks are vying for their first championship since 1973.
2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 6:58 PM.